Nissan’s First New-Era Datsun a Go

Nissan unveils the first new-era Datsun model, the Datsun Go 5-door hatchback, at an event in New Delhi.

Datsun is back as a brand for emerging-market cars.

“The name of the new car is inspired by the first Datsun, the DAT-GO, launched almost a century ago in Japan,” Nissan says.

The 5-door, front-wheel-drive hatchback will come with a 1.2L engine paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. It measures 149.0 ins. (378.5 cm) long, 64.4 ins. (163.5 cm) wide and 58.5 ins. (148.5 cm) high. It is said to be spacious inside, thanks to a wide stance and long wheelbase of 96.5 ins. (245.0 cm).

Datsun joins Nissan and Infiniti as the auto maker’s third brand and is expected to play an important role in the Nissan Power 88 midterm business plan.

“This is an historic day for Nissan and for our customers and partners in some of the world's fastest-growing markets,” President and CEO Carlos Ghosn says in unveiling the new car. “It's also an exciting moment for many women and men here in India who – today – come one step closer to realizing the dream of purchasing a car.”

Nissan has not revealed pricing for the new model in India. It says the Datsun Go is expected to be “a category up” in its price range, but below Rs400,000 ($6,700).

While Nissan's global design center in Japan is responsible for the Datsun Go’s styling, research and development was done locally with the help of Indian suppliers.

The car will be produced at one of the newest Renault-Nissan Alliance factories at Oragadam, near Chennai, India. The plant opened in 2010.

Datsun models also will be manufactured in Russia and Indonesia. The cars will be developed individually for different markets, but the concept will follow a common inspiration.

Datsun sales will be launched in India early next year, followed by Russia, Indonesia and South Africa. Other markets are expected to be added later.

Datsun originated in Japan as DAT-GO (the DAT-car) in 1914. The word DAT means “lightning-fast” in Japanese, but the brand name also is a reference to the first letters of family names of the three financiers who supported the business at the time: Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. Using the same logic, the car was promoted as Durable, Attractive and Trustworthy, or DAT for short.

Now Nissan says in a new interpretation Datsun stands for Dream, Access and Trust.